Top 25 football • The Irish finished undefeated at home for the first time since 1988.

By Tom Coyne The Associated Press

Published November 17, 2012 5:06 pm

This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

South Bend, Ind. • Everett Golson threw touchdown passes of 50, 34 and 2 yards, Cierre Wood scored on a 68-yard run and third-ranked Notre Dame beat Wake Forest 38-0 on Saturday to finish the season undefeated at home for the first time since 1998 and keep alive its national championship hopes.

The Fighting Irish improved to 11-0 for the first time since 1989 and need to beat Southern California to finish a regular season undefeated for the first time since 1988, the last time they won a national championship. The Demon Deacons (5-6) fell to 1-33 all-time against top-five teams. Their lone win came against No. 4 Tennessee in 1946.

The victory virtually assures the Irish of a berth in a BCS game. The Irish need to beat USC and likely need either No. 1 Oregon or No. 2 Kansas State to lose to qualify for the BCS title game. 